Allah

The Arabic word for "God", used in Islam and Christianity. The term "Allah" comes from the Arabic "Allah", that can be translated with "The God". Some also say that it would be derived from "al-ilah" in Arabic, where "al" stands for "the" and "ilah" stands for "deity", so that reads like "the -only- deity". In pre-Islamic times, in the polytheistic religion of Mecca, there was a god that was called Al-Lat, the moon god, which was probably considered as the highest god, but not an acting power, and therefore rarely focused on in rituals. While Islam rejects the other deities, Allah is described as the one eternal, omnipotent god. "Allah" is therefore not a proper name, and also Arabic Christians use "Allah" in their Arabic Bible.

In Islam there are 99 different names of God,
but these are also not to be considered as proper names, the idea of actually
naming God for Muslims, will be regarded
as a way of reducing God into a human framework. The high number of names
must be understood as an expression of the incapacity of man to grasp the
total nature of God. Most common of the 99 names are ar-Rahman, the Merciful,
and ar-Rahim, the Compassionate.

Ayah - Ayet

The Arabic meaning of Ayah is a miracle and a sign. The Qur'an
is considered to be a miracle itself. Each verse or sentence is called
an Ayah or a miracle. The plural of Ayah is called Ayat, which means miracles.

Ayatollah

Bismillah

Opening phrase of all suras in the
Koran,
meaning 'In the name of God; the Merciful; the Compassionate', except for
sura
9 (the reason for this omission is that the beginning of this sura
makes the bismillah superfluous).

The function of the bismillah is to state that the sura is issued in
the name of God, and is not made by man. Learned Muslims
will in most cases say that it is Muhammad who
have added the bismillah to the revealed texts, with this purpose in mind.

As Allah, Rahman, and Rahim all can be name of
gods, there were some few local speculations in early Islam
whether the bismillah was referring to one, or to three gods. Some Meccans
in the first years of Islam did see in this a polytheism.
There have been very few attempts to interpret the bismillah into a trinity
equal to the one of Christianity.

The short form bismillah is used as a part of daily language, normally
as a way of underlining sincerity and honesty. The long form is
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Emir

Honorary title, Arabic, for military or political leaders in Islam.
Emir is often used as the Arabic equivalent to "prince". Emir is one of
a handful of designations on descendants of Muhammad.
Emir is also used for tribal chiefs. Emirate was a tribe ruled by Emirs.

Fatiha

Opening sura of the Holy Koran,
that doubles as creed of Islam and as a salutation
that expresses strong feelings and important happenings in life, such as
love, fidelity, births, marriages and burials.
While the Koran is arranged so that long suras
come early, and short suras late, the
Fatiha is relatively short with its 7 ayas. Nor is
the Fatiha ever suggested as being early among the suras revealed, it is
in the Koran dated to the Meccan
period, a minimum of 12 years after the prophet Muhammad
received his first revelation. It is its broad aspect and message of the
Fatiha, that sums up the entire content of Islam,
which has made this sura stand out
not only in the Koran, but in the believer's mind
as well.

Fatima (fâtimatu z-zahrâ')

(Mecca c.605- Madina 633). Daughter
of the messenger of Islam, Muhammad,
and Khadija, and married to Ali, and mother of Hasan and Husayin (according
to Shi'i traditions, a third son, Muhassin,
died as a child), and two daughters.

Fatima is therefore the ancestral mother of the Imams
of the Shi'i Muslims, as well the ancestral
mother of all claiming to be descending from Muhammad,
as no other of Muhammad's children brought the
seed on. Little is reported from Fatima's life, but she appears to have
had bad health all through her life. Her relationship with Muhammad's
wife 'A'isha (Ayse), carried a lot of hostilities. When Abu Bakr became
the first Caliph, her relations with him, was
also difficult, probably because she had expected her husband to take over
after Muhammad, and because Abu Bakr denied
her the inheritance of the oasis of Fadak from her father. Most of the
other Shi'i stories are strongly religious.

All Muslims have great respect for her,
but it is in Shi'i Islam that she plays
the most important part, and here she is ascribed with superhuman qualities,
and is the "noblest ideal of human conception". She is called "the virgin"
and "the mother of the two Jesuses", reflecting an important influence
from Christianity. In Shi'i
Islam, her birthday and her marriage are
two dates that are celebrated.

Fatwa - Fetva

A technical term used in Islamic law to indicate a formal legal judgment or view of the
Mufti.

Gazi

Warrior of the Islamic faith, often awarded as
a title in recognition for valor in battle. Many gazis were mercenaries,
fighting for booty or a chance to establish a chieftaincy on conquered
territory. Sometimes spelled ghazi in English. Many Ottoman
sultans called themselves as Gazi.

Judaism

Third largest religion in Middle East and North Africa. Has about 5 million
adherents here, where about 90% live in Israel. The largest communities
outside Israel is in Palestine, but almost all countries in this region
has a small Jewish group. Also Turkey has many
Jewish citizens, mostly in Istanbul and
Izmir.

Kadi - Qadi

Madina - Medine

City in Saudi Arabia with 500,000 inhabitants. Situated in Hijaz, in western
Saudi Arabia. This city was originally called Yathrib. When Muhammad
and the Muslim community fled Mecca
in 622, Yathrib was chosen as the new headquarter, 330 km north of Mecca.
From this place Muhammad's community grew in
strength, size and importance. After 8 years they had grown strong enough
to make Mecca give in.

Muhammad did visit Mecca
after this, but he died in 632 in Yathrib, or the city of the Prophet as
it came to be called, Madinatu n-Nabiyy. Muhammad
was buried here, and a mosque was built round
his grave. His daughter Fatima and the Caliph
Omar, the second Caliph, was also buried here.
Medina was the capital of the Muslim community
until 661. Soon after the death of Muhammad,
people started coming to Medina, to see his grave. Despite the objections
of the Ulama, this tradition has grown
in importance, and today all those who has the means, try to visit Medina
after doing the hajj in Mecca.

Mecca

City in Saudi Arabia with 618,000 inhabitants. Mecca is located about 80
km from the Red Sea Coast, around a natural well.

Mecca is the most holy city in Islam. The city
is revered from being the first place created on earth, as well as the
place where Ibrahim together with his son Isma'il, built the Ka'ba.
The Ka'ba, the centre of Islam,
is a rectangular building made of bricks. Around the Ka'ba
is the great mosque, al-Haram, and around the
mosque,
in between the mountains, are the houses making up Mecca.

Mecca was a central point on the caravan routes running over the Arabian
peninsula at the time of Muhammad. Mecca was
revered as a holy city even before the first revelations came to Muhammad.
Today's pilgrimage in Mecca has many common traits
with the pagan activities in the city. Mecca's importance as a centre of
religious teaching must not be exaggerated. Very soon in the beginning
of the Muslim expansion, religious teaching
moved to other places in the Muslim world.
Mecca is important in two points: Centre of the compulsory pilgrimage,
as a part of five pillars, and a focal point
for all Muslims.

Today, many of the people living in Mecca are pilgrims wanting to study
Islam
in the very centre of the world. But this learning is primarily aimed at
normal people, and even today Muslim theology
is exercised other places. But for Saudi Arabia, Mecca is the centre of
religious teaching.

Apart from the services for pilgrimage there are
only modest economical activities going on. Every year some 2 million pilgrims
attend the hajj, and this number is now regulated,
where each country has their number. The numbers of Muslims
coming to Mecca for the umra, the lesser
pilgrimage
are far less, and not regulated.

Mulla - Molla

Word derived from the Arabic mawla, a word meaning "master". It was born as a title of respect by religious figures and jurists in Iran and other parts of Asia.

Mufti

A Muslim legal consultant who delivers a
Fatwa. He may or may not hold the rank of Kadi (Qadi). The mufti constitutes a living bridge from pure Islamic jurisprudence to everyday Islamic life. In the past, some countries had the office of Grand Mufti.